Acetylene-gas generator



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Patented Oct. 19, 1 897.

4 SheetsSheet 2 D. S. WILLIAMS. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct. 19, 1897.

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AOETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

No. 592.035. Patented Oct. 19, 1897.

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. D. S. WILLIAMS.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

No. 592,035.. Patented Oct. 19,1897.

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FFIC EQ DAVID S. WILLIAMS,- OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ACETYLEN E-GAS G EN ERATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 592,035, dated October 19, 1897.

v application filed December 15, 1896. Serial No. 615,732. (No model.)

To all may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID S. WILLIAMS, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Philaa delphia, in the county of*-Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene- Gas Generators; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of,

the inventiomsuch as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper'tains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the ac,-

companying drawings, and to the lettersof' reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

provements in devices for generating acetylene gas from calcium carbid or any of the:

well-known carbids from which 'the said'gas may be generated when the same are brought in contact with Water. In devices commonly employed for this purpose theca-rbid is placed in a retort and water is brought .in contact with it, the gas passing off to a gasometeror holder, which gradually rises as the gas accumulates, in some cases the supply being cut off after a sufficient quantity has been stored, the surplus gas being allowed to escape or else stored under high'pressure' in other suitable devices attached to the apparatus.

The object of my present improvements is to produce a generator which will be perfectly automatic in its operation, and one in which the danger of high pressure is overcome by intermediate devices placed between the generator proper and the gasometer or holder.

In carrying out my invention I employ a generator consisting of a steel reservoir, into which the carbid is placed and to which is supplied a stream of water which is sprayed upon the carbid, the gas thus generated passing into the receiver and gasometer as the receiver is regulated to withstand a pressure somewhat higher than that of the gasometer or holder, as more fully explained hereinafter. The latter device will receive the gas first and be supplied to'itsfull capacity, after which the supply will be cut off and the remaining gas which is generated will accumulate in the receiver and displaoe'a column of 1 water, which, acting upon suitable devices My invention relates to new anduseful-ima form of my device.

controlling the water-supply, cuts off the water and checks, to a certain extent, the generation of gas, the object of this intermediate receiver being to store up the surplus gas whichzmay be generated, due to a surplus of water admitted to the carbid or to an accumulation caused by moisture in the gener- 'ator. or pipes connected therewith, which is known to produce gas and cause great danger were the same to accumulate under pressurewhen the machine is not in use, or, in

I further profilled and the receiver. is charged beyond its .capacity, which could only occur were the .machine to stand idle longer than the capacity of the receiver and gasometer would- .permit.

My invention further comprises novel feature of construction and arrangement of the in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 illustrates a side elevation of one Fig. 2 illustrates a vertical section of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a similar vertical section of a slightly-modified form, the several parts being consolidated and forming a more compact machine; and Fig. 4 illustrates a vertical section of a somewhat-modified form of the generator and receiver.

' In reference to the various parts constitut in'g' my device, as shown in the drawings, A

represents the generator, which consists of a steel retort, into which is placed a woven wire basket B, containing the calcium carbid O for generating the gas. A stream of water from any suitable source of supply is admitted to the generator through a pipe D and sprayed through a small nozzle d upon the oarbid, (see. Fig. 4,) although the water may pass through small openings in the pipe and fall, drop by drop, upon the carbid, as shown in Fig. 3. The gas thus formed passes through a pipe E to the gasometer or holder F, which is of a form. commonly employed in storing hydrocarbon and other gases. In some cases, where large apparatus is employed, I sometimes provide a coil E for the purpose of parts of this device, as more fully illustrated cooling the gas coming from the generator, the moisture which is precipitated passing to a drip e, which is provided with a cock e. As the gas accumulates in the holder the bell or upper portion containing the gas rises until it reaches a point where the guide fcomes in contact with an adjustable ring 9, and as the bell continues to rise it carries the rod G, which controls a weighted lever g, which operates the valve G and cuts off the supply of gas. A branch pipe E conveys the gas from the generator to the receiver H after the gasometer has been filled, the former being filled with water to a point indicated by a dotted line. (See Fig. 2.)

The receiver [I consists of an inner iron or steel cylinder provided at or near the bottom with openings 71, through which the water passes as the gas accumulates, and an outer cylinder H, supporting the generator and confining the water displaced by the gas. As the water is displaced from the cylinder II and rises in the cylinder II, it lifts a float I, which is supported on a rod 1', guided in the cylinder II, and which acting upon a weighted lever operates the valve J, andjcuts off the water-supply to the generator and checks the formation of gas.

The gas in the holder passes through the service-pipe K, provided with a drip 7c and cock is, and as it is consumed a fresh supply is admitted from the receiver II, which contains gas under a somewhat higher pressure than that of the holder. The gas is forced from the receiver by the column of water, which, falling in the cylinder II, lowers the float I, and again admits water to the generator.

In practice I find it impossible to prevent altogether the formation of gas from calcium carbid, even after the water-supply has for some time been cut elf, this material in a sense having a strong affinity for moisture, and in order to prevent accident due to an accumulation of the gas under pressure, I provide the receiver II with a gage-glass L, having valves Z Z, by which the quantity of gas in the receiver can be ascertained at a glance; but to still further provide a means of safety I provide the outer cylinder of the receiver II with an escape-pipe M, which will convey the gas which has discharged the water from the receiver II and escaped through the cylinder II to a safe-point of exit, and any wateror moisture which might be carried out along with the escaping gas will be trapped in the seal formed between the pipes M and M.

I11 the pipe E, leading from the generator, I prefer to place a combined check and stop valve E so that in case the cover A of the generator should be carelessly removed without closing the valve E the check will act under the pressure of gas in the receiver and prevent the escape of gas into the generator.

The basket B, which I prefer to form of finely-woven iron wire, although other fibrous material will suffice, is supported upon lugs a, formed upon the inside of the generator. The surplus water and residue resulting from the exhausted carbid will settle in the bottom of the generator and duct a and can be conveyed therefrom through the dischargepipe a by the pressure of gas when the valve a is opened.

The same general construction above described is carried out in the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. In Fig. 3, which is design ed as a machine of comparatively small capacity, the generator A is confined to a space in the cylinder II between the holder F and receiver H, a partition in the cylinder H forming the bottom of the holder. The gas generated in the receiver A passes through the pipe E", provided with a combined check and stop valve E and passes into the holder. At the upper end of the pipe E is a valve E, which is controlled by a rod f connected to the holder and acting upon the weighted lever c automatically controls the valve E, as already described. A service-pipe K communicates with the holder and carries the gas therefrom. The surplus gas passes through the branch pipe c into the receiver II and discharges the water contained therein through a standpipe II. The water from any convenient source of supply is conveyed to the generator through the pipe D provided with a valve (1 which is operated by a weighted lever (1", and rod (1, the latter engaging an adjustable collar d on a rod d", which latter is secured to a float D located in the standpipe IF. As the water rises in the standpipe 11 the float is raised and the supply of waterto the generatoris cut off. An excess of gas in the receiver will discharge all the water into the stand-pipe II and allow the gas to escape through the escape-pipe M into the atmosphere.

' In the construction illustrated in Fig. at of the drawings the generator A is suspended from the top of the receiver in like manner as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pipe E connected to the generator, is provided with a combined check and stop valve E A branch E communicating with the pipe E conveys the gas to the receiver, which is similar in construction in general arrangement to that described and shown in Fig. 3, the standpipe II being provided with a float D which regulates the supply of water through the supply-pipe D to the generator.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is-

1. A gas-machine comprising a generator provided with a Water-supply pipe and a gasdischarge pipe, a holder connected to the gasdischarge pipe, a valve in said pipe, a rod connected to the bell of the holder and adapted to shut off the supply of gas when the holder is filled, a receiver comprising a reservoir interposed between the generator and holder having a branch communicating with the gas-pipe leading therefrom and constructed to hold a body of water, a reservoir adapted to receive the water discharged by the pressure of gas in the receiver, and a float controlled thereby and adapted to cut off the supply of water to the generator.

2. A gas-machine comprisinga generator provided with a receptacle for containing the gas-forming material, a water -supply pipe leading thereto, a receiver in communication with the generator by a pipe, said receiver being providedwith a chamber to receive the gas from the generator and a chamber to receive a body of water discharged by the incoming gas, mechanism controlled by the body of water in the receiver to regulate the supply of water to the generator, a pipe in communication with thereceiver adapted to discharge the gas therefrom when the receiver is overloaded, a pipe leading from the receiver to the holder provided with a valve controlled by the volume of gas in the holder to regulate the supply of gas from the receiver, substantially as shown and described.

3. A gas-machine comprising a generator provided with a water-supplypipe and a gasdischarge pipe, a holder connected to they gasdischarge pipe, a valve in said pipe, a rod connected to the bell of the holder and adapted to shut off the supply of gas when the holder is filled, a receiver comprising a reservoir interposed between the generator and holder having a branch communicating with the gaspipe leading therefrom and constructed to hold a body of water, a reservoir adapted to receive the water discharged by the pressure of the gas in the receiver, a float controlled thereby and adapted to cut off the supply of water to the generator and-an escape-pipe'for discharging the gas from the receiver when the same is overloaded, substantially as set forth.

4. A machine for generating acetylene gas comprising a generator supported by a cylinder comprising the outer wall of the receiver,

an inner cylinder secured to the bottom of the outer cylinder and provided with holes through which water passes to the outer cylinder, a gage-glass communicating at the top and bottom with the inner cylinder, a gasometer or holder, a pipe leading from the generator thereto, a branch leading from the said pipe to the inner cylinder of the receiver, a water-supply pipe communicating with the generator, a valve thereon, a weighted lever for operating the valve, a float governed by the water contained in the outer cylinder of the receiver, adapted to automatically regulate the supply of water to the generator, a duct formed at the bottom of the generator having a discharge-pipe leading therefrom, and a valve in the discharge-pipe, substantially as specified. 7

5. A machine for generating acetylene gas comprising in combination a generator provided with a water-supply pipe, and a gasdischarge pipe, the latter leading to the gasometer or holder, a closed cylinder suspending the generator and forming the outer wall of the'receiver, an inner cylinder closed at the top and provided with a series of holes at or near the bottom, said cylinders formin g together an annular space in the receiver which contains water displaced from the inner cylinder, a branch pipe connected to the inner cylinder of the receiver at the top thereof, and supplying the same With gas from the generator, said pipe connected to and forming part of a line of pipes leading from the generator to the gasometer or holder, a valve in said pipe automatically controlled by the pressure of gasin the gasometer or holder, and adapted to cut off the supply of gas from the generator when the holder is filled, a float adapted to a portion of the re ceiver acted upon by the water displaced from the inner or gas-holding portion of the receiver, said float automatically regulating the supply of water to the generator by acting upon a valve in the water-supplypipe, and an escape-pipe leading from the receiver to safe means of exit, said pipe conveying the gas from the overloaded inner cylinder of the receiver, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID S. WILLIAMS. 1

Witnesses:

RoBERrW. LLOYD, HERBERT I. LLoYn. 

